Novak Djokovic’s Lack of Signature ‘Visceral’ Trait Prompts Andy Roddick to Deliver ‘Confusing’ Verdict

Jannik Sinner beating Novak Djokovic was one of his greatest accomplishments in the Australian Open before he won the slam. The Italian player dominated the Serbinator in the first two sets as the Djoker aimed to complete a comeback. However, he was stopped in his path. Many tennis personalities have shared their thoughts about why he couldn’t win the bout.

Andy Roddick also shared his thoughts on why he did not manage to eliminate Sinner in the semifinal. He sat down with Jon Wertheim in the inaugural episode of his podcast and the two discussed the clash.

Novak Djokovic left confused by Jannik Sinner triumph

Djokovic did not often find the crowd siding with him. However, he is well-known for using the jeers of the crowd to motivate himself. While that was true for his earlier years, the situation has changed a bit now. Now, much of the tennis world cheers for him, and Roddick believes it was partly responsible for his downfall during the Australian Open semifinal, as he revealed on his podcast, ‘Served with Andy Roddick’. 

“That was weird because he was having to adjust to the crowd cheering for him, right? So he couldn’t use that visceral me versus you thing, and that was confusing. I thought I was in the stadium that day, and uh, the match against Sinner was the first time in a long time I saw him kind of searching for an energy sorcerer or motivation source on top of a matchup that has very quickly become a difficult one for him.”

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Roddick believes a similar scenario happened when Djokovic contested the Grand Slam achievement in 2021 and was defeated by Daniil Medvedev in the US Open final. While he was left floundering to find his motivation, as per Roddick, the Serbian has revealed his true source of motivation to keep going.

How Djokovic keeps his fire alive

Preparing for the Nitto ATP Finals in 2023, Djokovic said that his drive comes from more than just accomplishing titles in the sport. “I also love competing, I love the sport. That’s my greatest motivation really, because I’ve made a lot of records, I’ve broken a lot of records and it’s great,” he revealed in an ATP Tour interview. 

While he kept fighting against Sinner for each point, the Italian star emerged victorious in the key moments. He was competing to go further in the tournament, but Sinner proved to be the better player on the fateful day. 

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